Should Apple pull the plug on the iPhone?

The hype over the unreleased iPhone has actually increased over the past month despite the fact that nobody has seen or used the device. This, if nothing else, proves the power of branding and especially the power of brand loyalty.

It's the loyalists who keep promoting this device as if it is going to be anything other than another phone in a crowded market. And it's exactly the crowded-market aspect of this that analysts seem to be ignoring.

Apple's past successes have been in markets that were emerging or moribund. Its biggest hit has been the iPod. But let's examine what happened here...